A one-day symposium to advance the science of dental composites is to be held to mark the 50th anniversary of the American Dental Association's participation in research at the National Bureau of Standards. The principal objective of the symposium, entitled "Design and Development of Improved Composites", is to accelerate the incorporation of known improvements into commercial composites and to identify the directions for future improvements in the ingredients and properties. This symposium is to be directed primarily to dental materials researchers, teachers and manufacturers, and is to be held in conjunction with the IADR-AADR meeting in Washington, D.C. March l6 -l9, l978.